Blogackers

If you have been on the fence about installing a WordPress blog, it’s time to make a decision and start blogging.  WordPress’ new features unleash brand new powers to save your time and effort.

HOW TO INSTALL YOUR BLOG

The fist thing you’ll want to do is to go to your site’s control panel, click the Fantastico icon, and let your server set up and install your blog.  Once the blog has been installed, you will want to go into your administrative panel, which is called a dashboard.  The dashboard enables you to easily update the blog software, add plugins, and change the look of your blog.  This is also where you add content in the form of new articles and posts.

UPDATING THE BLOG SOFTWARE

Recent versions of the blogging software have allowed you to update the software with just one click within your dashboard, and to search, review and install plugins that will enhance the power of your WordPress blog.

HOW TO WORK WITH BLOG THEMES

The plugin installation capability has been expanded to include themes in the June 2009 WordPress update.  The new WordPress Version 2.8 offers an outstanding and super easy to use theme feature that is similar to the plugin feature.  You simply specify the type of theme that you want; for instance, a 2 column blue and gold theme, click search and then preview the free themes that are available.  Select the theme that appeals to you and WordPress will install it from the dashboard.  In the old days, you would have to look at different themes from the WordPress or other sites, download the theme, unzip it, then ftp it into your blog’s content area. This time consuming task has been simplified with the new WordPress release.

Once your theme is installed, you can edit the php pages if you want.  The page editing process is a lot easier with WordPress’ new color-coded theme editor.  The code display in the new WordPress platform is now numbered and colored, making editing your PHP and stylesheet pages much, much easier.

If you have installed a more complicated “magazine style” theme, you will be working with Timthumb to create thumbnail images on your front page.  It is easy to work with this, but sometimes the documentation that comes with the WordPress theme provider is not very good.  At Not Guru, you can find a step-by-step tutorial, replete with screen shots, which show you how to work with magazine style WordPress themes.

WORDPRESS IS NOW FASTER

As an added bonus, the new WordPress software has removed a bunch of bugs and it runs much faster.

BLOGGING WILL IGNITE YOUR STAGNANT SITES

WordPress blogs, when updated frequently, are a fantastic search engine traffic magnet.  If they are updated on a consistent basis, new posts generally show up in the search engines within hours.  There is an easy way to get your blog posts indexed even faster, and it will not cost you a cent to do.  What you do is install what is called the SEO blog plugin.  WordPress’ plugin installation feature makes installing the blog traffic plugin a snap. In just a few minutes and a couple of mouse clicks, the zip file will be uploaded from your computer hard drive, unpacked, and fully installed.  Once installed, the plugin will tweak your blog, have you install other traffic-pulling plugins, and optimize the search engine capabilities of your blog.  As you tweak your blog using the SEO blog software, you can see your SEO grade, like 80% or 90% optimized.  You will see a positive change in your blog’s performance once the SEO plugin is installed.

Because you will keep your web visitors happy with up-to-date content and the search engines constantly visiting your site, adding a blog is a powerful tool to add to your website.  Installing and maintaining a blog has never been easier, thanks to the new WordPress release.  Blog installation tips, computer help and other practical guides are provided daily at the Not Guru blog.